Photo credit: mlb.com

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants have managed to get back to being a winning baseball team. By virtue of their series win against the San Diego Padres, they are now a game above .500, which is certainly a reason to be excited if you’re a Giants fan.

Having won four of their last six games, the Giants, however, will have a test on their hands as they now hit the road for 12 games.

The first stop on their journey will take place in Atlanta, as the Giants pay a visit to the Braves for a three-game weekend series that starts Friday night at SunTrust Park. Chris Stratton (2-2, 3.90 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants opposite Atlanta righty Mike Foltynewicz (2-1, 2.53 ERA).

Foltynewicz is coming off a stellar performance in Philadelphia, as he gave up only a run on three hits over six strong innings in a 4-1 win over the Phillies last Saturday. Meanwhile, Stratton is looking for a comeback after surrendering six runs in only 1 1/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Dodgers last Saturday.

Lefty Ty Blach (2-3, 4.10 ERA) will go for the Giants on Saturday against Brandon McCarthy, a former Athletic who has won all of his four starts this year with a 3.09 ERA. In their last outings, McCarthy beat the Phillies in a one-run, five-hit performance over 5 1/3 innings, while Blach went six innings and surrendered a pair of runs on six hits in a win over Washington.

To close out the series, the Giants will send Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 5.27 ERA) to the mound against Atlanta’s Mike Soroka (1-0, 1.50 ERA).

Samardzija, who has been making his return from injury, is coming off an outing against San Diego on Monday where he surrendered two runs on five hits in a victory while Soroka won his first start of the season on Tuesday by surrendering only a run on six hits to the New York Mets.